Notes #1

Sea Fever - John Masefield

I must go down to the seas again,

to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship

and a star to steer her by;

And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song

and the white sail’s shaking,

And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and

a grey dawn breaking,

I must down to the seas again,

for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call

that may not be denied; And all I ask is a windy day

with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume,

and the sea-gulls crying.

I must down to the seas again,

to the vagrant gypsy life,

To the gull’s way and the whale’s way

where the wind’s like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn

from a laughing fellow-rover,

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream

when the long trick’s over.

John Masefield's "Sea Fever" is an artistically crafted poem that expresses the beauty of the ocean through its use of rhythm and figurative language. The meter in "Sea Fever" follows the movement of the ship by the portrayal of iambs and hard hitting spondees. The varied meter follows the actions of the “tall ship” through the high seas and strong winds. The personification and metaphors go beyond the meter to depict a deep desire for the sea. There are metaphors within the poem, but the whole poem is a metaphor in itself. It is comparing life to a sea voyage which amplifies the diction and overall significance of the poem.

Reading Goals

1. Read my Bible for 15 minutes everyday
2. Read outside every day the sun is out
3. Finish the Hunger Games series
4. Actually read my books for AP Lit
5. Finish another book series (undecided one which series?) Any suggestions?

Exercise #3

Book Reviews:
1. Someone Like You
2. Saving Zoe
3. A Kiss in Time

Things in common:
1. Beginning: Short introduction about author and/or history of the book. Basic general details about the novel.
2. Middle: Introduces the main characters and the conflict in general terms.
3. End: Finishes with a line or question that makes you want to read the book.

Exercise 2

(7)  Not only is a bitterness tone expressed, but also pure anger with some words and even sentences being capitalized such as "...because her little sister will NOT shut up she will NOT shut up SHE WILL NOT SHUT UP and Roberta is about to BASH her little sister's HEAD IN IF SHE DOES NOT SHUT UP."

(4)  Finally, Barry also  consistently bashed the city without giving it a single positive feature with her saying, "Once upon a cruddy time on a cruddy street on the side of a cruddy hill in the cruddiest part of a crudded-out town in a cruddy state, country, world, solar system, universe" exudes a snobbish and ungrateful tone to the readers.

(5)  The " cruddy time on a crudddy street on the side of a cruddy hill in the cruddiest part of a crudded-out town in a cruddy state, country, world, solar system, universe."

Exercise 1

Barry's novel Cruddy exudes a bitter and juvenile tone which provokes a sense of rage and rebellion. This occurs on a "cruddy street on the side of a cruddy hill in the cruddiest part of a crudded-out town,." The repetition of the the word "cruddy" intensifies the narrator's harshness towards the current situation at hand. The excessive capitalization throughout the passage punctuates the child-like diction and promotes the thought that the author is an adolescent. The boldness of words in this passage enunciate the emotion which enhances the author's distress and foreshadows to future vengeance.